Vehicle running-gear.



PATENTEN. MAR. 20, 1906. J. H. GRESSOM. VEHICLE RUNNING GEAR. APPLICATION FILED MAY 6 1905 srArns -FATENT onnron.

JAM E's eeEssoM, or NORTH HUDSON, WISCONSIN.

VEHICLE RUNNING-GEAR.

' at North Hudson, in the county of St. Orolx.

and State of Wisconsin, have invented anew and useful Vehicle Running-Gear, of which the following is a specification.

- The present invention relates to improvements in vehicle running-gear, and more particularly to the coupling between the front axle,- the reach,the bolster, and the tongue. The primary object of the invention is to improve the construction illustrated and claimed in the former patent granted to me September 12, 1899, and numbered 633,000. One of the must serious objections to the atented structure resulted from securing the bolster directly'to the cap member, which is attached to the reach, as it'is impossible to remove a body or rack from the running-gear without great difficulty" and the services of twoor'moreassistants. The resent coupling is so constructed'that the bdlster' has an entirely free and independent movement from the coupling members, though supported thereby, so that a body or rack mounted upon the bolster can be easily thrown to one side or the other and readily removed, said independent movement of the bolster being also a very desirable featurewhen the vehicle is traveling over rough roads, as it avoids a great many strains which would be otherwise imparted to the running-gear. other very important feature of the invention' relates to the means for interlocking the members of the coupling, said means being much stronger than in the original device.

Still other features reside in the construction and connection of the reach and also in the manner of connecting the tongue, the advantages for which hereinafter fully appear.

The referred embodiment of the invention is i lustrated in the accompanying drawing's, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of the coupling.- Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the same. Fig.- 3-is a cross-sectional view. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the base member. 5

Fig. 5 is an inverted detail perspective view of thecap member.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of said cap member.-

.Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in'all thefigures of the drawrngs,

Before proceeding wi h h d riptio f Specificatifin of L tters Patent.

Application filed May 6, 1905, s p N0. 259'??? Patented March 20, 1906.

the invention it may be said that while the present instance the structure is shown espe er .cially designed for ordinary farm or lum wagons, it will be readily understood that it can be employed upon all sorts of vehicles and agricultural implements,- also spring wa ons of all kinds.

i n the present embodiment the usual front axle is designated by the reference-numeral [10, and upon the same is mounted a base imember 11, with which is pivotally associl ated a cap member 12. The base member 11 comprises a body h iving outstanding arms 13, which rest upon and are secured to the axle 10. by means of bolts 14. Extending forwardly from the member are conve'rgently-disposed arms15, which support ian inclosed boxing 16, havingits front end gopen, said boxing preferably tapering toward its rear end. The rear end of the tongue 217 extends intothis boxing and is pivoted ,therein by means of a bolt '18. Braces 19 i connect the boxing and the front axle 10.- A segmental bearing-flange 20 is secured to the rear side of the member, being connected to ;provided on its outer side with an outstand-;

ing lip 23 and on its inner side contiguousto its upper edge with inwardly-extending lips 24, the ends of said lips being spaced apart .to provide entrance-openings 25. Within the annular wall is arranged a boss 26, thatis hollowed out to provide a socket 27.

The cap member 12 comprises a flat circujlar plate 28, that is arranged to cover the openside of the base ,member, and carries a depending Wall 29, that surrounds the wall 22 of the base member, said wall 29 having an inturned lip 30, that en ages beneath the lip 23 of the wall 22. A ollow depending boss 31is arranged within the depending wall 29 and is adapted to fit within the annular wall 22 of the base member and about the boss 26 thereof, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3,'this boss 31 being provided with out standing lips 32, which engage beneath themwardly-extending lips 24 of the basemember, being movable through the receivingopenings' 25, as will be readily understood. The cap member furthermore carries a rearwardly-extending shank 33, the lower porj tion of which has an car 34, that engages beneath the segmental flange 20 of the base member. The rear end of this shank is provided in its upper and lower faces with longitudinally-disposed seats 35, in which are fitted spaced reach-bars 36, secured by means of bolts 37. Spacing-blocks 38 are arranged between these bars at suitable intervals. A supporting-chain 39 connects the forward portion of the cap member and the tongue 17 in front of the boxing 16, said chain transmitting the weight'of the tongue to the coupling, and thereby relieving said boxing of the same. The plate 28 of the cap member. is furthermore provided with an opening 40, which alines withthe socket 27 in the boss 26, said opening being provided with ofiset portions 41.

The bolster, which is designated 42, is arranged upon the coupling and carries a depending pivot-pin 43, which passes through the opening 40 and engages in the socket 27 of the base member, said pin being provided with outstanding retaining-lugs 44, which are arranged to be passed through the offset portions 41 of the opening 40 and when arranged out of alinement therewith engage beneath the plate 28, thereby preventing the displacement of the bolster.

The advantages for this construction over the patented device may be summed up as follows: In the first place the cap member 12 has an interlocking engagement with the inner and outer faces of the annular wall 22 of the base member, whereas in the former construction this interlocking engagement is only provided upon the outer face. Then again while the bolster is securely locked to the coupling and is supported thereon it has a free independent movement from either member, so that it may be turned without regard to the position of the members. The specific construction of the reach is important, as it is much stronger than the prior structure, the two bars constituting a truss which will neither yield in an upward or downward direction. By having the pivot end of the tongue entirely incased the pivot is protected to a great extent from dirt and sand, so that it will not wear as rapidly. This is of the greatest importance, especially when the vehicle is used in hauling earth or sand. Furthermore, the chain transmits the weight of the tongue to the coupling, and the boxing is entirely relieved of such strain.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a coupling of the class described, revolubly-associated members, one of said members having an annular wall, the other having an interlocking engagement with the inner face of the wall and an interlocking engagement with the outer face of the wall, said engagements being respectively located at difi'erintsides of the axis of rotation of the memers.

2. In a coupling of the class described, revolubly-associated members, one of said members having an annular wall provided with an outstanding lip on its outer face and at one side of the axis of rotation of the members, said wall also having an inwardly-extending lip on its inner face and on a different side of said axis of rotation, the other member carrying projections located on opposite sides of the annular wall and on different sides of the axis of rotation of the members, said projecti ons having offset portions that respectively and movably engage beneath the lips.

3. In a coupling of the class described, the combination with a base member having an upstanding annular wall provided on its inner face with inset lips, the ends of which are spaced apart, said wall also having an outstanding lip located on the portion between the ends of the inset lips, a cap member revolubly fitted upon the base member and having depending portions that are located within and en age beneath the inset lips, said cap member a so having a depending portion located between the ends of the first-mentioned portion and engaging beneath the outstanding lip of the base member.

4. In a coupling of the class described, the combination with pivotally-associated coupling members, of a bolster located upon the members, and a pivot carried by the bolster and having an engagement with said members.

5. In a coupling of the class described, the combination with a base member, of a cap member pivotally associated with the base member and having an opening therethrough, a bolster located upon the cap member, and a pivot carried by the bolster, said pivot passing through the opening in the cap member and having an engagement with the base member.

6. In a coupling of the class described, the combination with a base member having a seat, of a cap member pivotally associated with the base member and having an opening therethrough that alines with the seat of the base member, a bolster located upon the cap member, and a pivot carried by the bolster, said pivot passing through the opening in the cap member and engaging in the seat of the base member.

7. In a coupling of the class described, the combination with a base member having a seat, of a cap member pivotally associated with the base member and having an opening therethrough that alines with the seat of the base member and is provided with ofiset portions, a bolster located upon the cap member,

and a depending pivot carried by the bolster and passing-through the opening in the cap member, said pivot having outstanding retaining-lugs which pass through the offset ing boxing attached to the lower member and having an open front end, a tongue having its rear end located in the boxing, a transverse pivot extending through the boxing and tongue, and a flexible connection between the upper member and the tongue in advance of the boxing.

9. In a coupling of the class described, the combination with pivotally-associated coupling members, of a bolster, and a pivot fixed to the bolster and rotatably associated with the members, said pivot being rotatable with the bolster and with respect to both of the members.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES HENRY GRESSOM. 

